The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of holes to fill this offseason, and even though they don’t need a quarterback, they’ll need someone to backup starter Dak Prescott. There’s no Cooper Rush, no Trey Lance, and Will Grier isn’t much to write home about. It’s basically just Prescott, looking around like the Will Smith gif from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

While this isn’t a pressing need, ideally the Cowboys would only want the No. 2 QB holding a clipboard and taking a handful of meaningless snaps throughout the 17-game schedule, the team does need to take the backup QB gig seriously.

Prescott has played just one full season since 2019 and is coming off an injury that cost him the last nine games of his 2024 campaign. In the last five seasons, Prescott’s been derailed for the year twice, once with a horrific compound fracture to his ankle in 2020, and last year with a hamstring injury that was torn from the bone. In 2022, a fractured thumb cost the veteran signal caller five games, but it was the only season in which the team weathered his absence to make the postseason.

Prescott is also getting older; he’ll be 32-years old in July and his body isn’t taking the hits as well as he did in his younger years. The Cowboys need to have a backup plan because believing Prescott can play a full slate in 2025 would be shortsighted. The last thing the organization would want is to have a season derailed by an injury to Prescott with no adequate backup option.

Last year, and for the past four seasons, Dallas has turned to Rush to fill the void when Prescott’s been out of the lineup. He isn’t a flashy name and doesn’t have a sexy game, but Rush has done well when called upon. Rush’s record of 9-5 as the backup is evidence that he can keep the team in contention when he’s on the field. Four of those losses came last year when the Cowboys were decimated by injury and weren’t much better when Prescott was in the lineup.

Rush is also a free agent, able to sign with any team. Although he might be back, Rush was once picked up by another team when the Cowboys released him, the New York Giants in 2020.

The expectation has always been that Rush will be back, because he always seems to find his way back, being re-signed by the Cowboys five times since 2020. As a team that loves keeping players they know, Rush is as comfortable as it gets.

However, Rush’s return isn’t a guarantee, and in Stephen Jones’ interview at the NFL combine, he mentioned how Rush might command more than the Cowboys can afford.

If Rush doesn’t return, the Cowboys also aren’t likely to turn to their former No. 3 signal caller in Lance. Despite investing a fourth-round pick on him in 2023, the team is expected to move on from Lance after two unimpressive seasons. Dallas liked Lance enough to trade a pick for him, but they didn’t seem eager to let him play until the final game of the 2024 season. Lance had an admirable showing in the loss to the Washington Commanders, but the Cowboys not wanting to play him in meaningful games despite giving up a mid-round pick for him was telling.

Beyond Rush and Lance, though, the Cowboys have little connection to any of the free agent QBs on the market. Grier is much more of practice squad option than primary backup, so a true No. 2 signal caller is needed.

The free agent list of QBs is a solid group, but if Rush will cost too much, then this list is made up of options that will mostly be too expensive for the Joneses to consider, and none are likely to welcome a definite backup spot. Veterans Aaron Rodgers and Sam Darnold will command a heavy price to sign, and neither is coming to Dallas as a No. 2 QB.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers QBs Russell Wilson and Justin Fields might be good fits, especially with Wilson having familiarity with Schottenheimer, but they could both be looking for more opportunities to play. Jameis Winston might be an option, maybe Joe Flacco too, if they were willing to sign for cheaper than they might get elsewhere.

Young QBs who could interest the Cowboys include Zach Wilson and Mac Jones, two signal callers trying to find the right fit to revitalize their careers. Other options include Taylor Heinicke, Marcus Mariota, Drew Lock or Jimmy Garoppolo.

It’s not a bad group of QBs looking for a home this offseason, but will the Cowboys seriously entertain signing any of them? The potential is there to add a younger QB with more upside, it’s just a matter of what the Cowboys want to do behind Prescott.

In the past Dallas has added veteran quarterbacks with some success, Andy Dalton and Kyle Orton come to mind, but that strategy has changed to re-signing a cheaper option like Rush.

The Cowboys could also add a QB in the draft, which seems like they’re preferred option. Jones mentioned they’ll be looking to draft a QB which could mean Prescott’s main backup might be a rookie. This isn’t a great class to find help in the draft and it feels like there are too many other holes on the roster to use a pick on a QB, but the Cowboys will be taking a long look at the upcoming group in April.

No matter what the Cowboys decide, they must ensure they have a quality backup QB in case Prescott can’t make it through the 2025 season. History tells us betting on 17 games from Prescott isn’t a smart bet.

Even if they forgo adding a good veteran backup option, the Cowboys need to add at least one QB because right now Prescott is basically all they have at the position.

One is the loneliest number.